Pictures, mirrors and diplomas are among generally flat objects commonly hung from walls for their intended ornamental or functional purposes. It is aesthetically important to most people to have such objects positioned in harmonious alignment with the walls, corners, doorways and windows, or furniture visible in conjunction therewith.
A common technique for achieving this is to have a string or wire attached at its ends to two points on the supported object and supported at a generally central position from a nail, screw or hook affixed to the supporting wall. Vertical alignment of the object is obtained by altering the wire length and, to a lesser extent, horizontally by moving the string or wire over the nail by a short distance and utilizing friction between the lower edge of the object and the wall surface to maintain the preferred alignment. Depending on where the suspending wire is attached to the object, how long it is, and how heavy the object is, there will be a visible gap at the top between the back of the object and the adjacent wall. While an earthquake usually will cause misalignment or even the fall of the object, much the same can happen from an accidental push, a slamming door, or a sudden gust of wind from an open window. The constant and generally indiscernible vibration experienced by supporting surfaces such as walls, as a result of pedestrian and vehicular traffic or the operation of machinery, may also change the alignment of the object over time. Having two supporting nails or screws may increase the margin of safety somewhat, but the problems remain.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,388, to Hirt, teaches the use of a wall-mounted guide comparable in width to the frame, slidably and adjustably affixable to a similarly sized element mounted on the supporting wall. Hirt does not teach how to initially mount the wall-supported element with a high degree of accuracy; nor does it deal with the tipping of the top of the frame away from the wall while the lower edge of the frame presumably rubs against the wall. U.S. Pat. No. 950,517, to Seidel, shows apparatus for supporting heavy objects slidably adjustable on a box-like projecting member permanently attached to the supporting wall. U.S. Pat. No. 2,508,424, to Denton, teaches the use of two long, essentially L-sectioned members, with relative vertical adjustment by threaded rods in compression, in a manner and proportion akin to those of Hirt. Devices employing hooks and threaded adjustments to support framed pictures are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 2,697,572, to Pfankuch, U.S. Pat. No. 2,522,901, to Schager et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,723,096 to Schwartz. Each of the last three, however, would allow the picture to fall off if severely jarred, keep the picture tipped away from the wall at the top, and allow the lower frame edge to rub on the wall.
A need, therefore, exists for a simple, inexpensive apparatus and a method for supporting a generally flat object, such as a framed picture, such that the initial aligning of the wall-attached portion is done easily with high accuracy, allowing for adjustment for levelness at any time, keeping the supported object parallel to the wall surface everywhere without rubbing of any edge against the wall, and ensuring that the object stays on the wall even when jarred violently.